Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-27
THE CROKER WEDDING.
THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY IN SAN
FRANCISCO YESTERDAY.
The Newly-Married Pair Come to
Sacramento and Will Re-
main Some Days.

Charles b. Alexander, of New York. and
Miss Hattie Croker. of San Francisco, a
native of Sacramento, were married in San
Francisco yesterday. The announcement
Of the engagement was made some months
ago in New York, and a few weeks ago the
bride and her parents and the bridegroom
and several of his friends arrived in Cali
fornia from New York, that the marriage
might take place in the State of the lady's
nativity. The preparations for the wedding
have been the chieftopics in San Francisco
! for some weeks, and occasioned much in
terest because of the prominent position of
the bride in society, and her amiability and
unselfish character, which are proverbial,
and have won for her hosts of friends
wherever her influence has been felt.
Though the daughter of a very rich Cali
fornlan, Charles Croker, and an heiress to
great wealth, the young lady has not with
drawn herself to a narrowly exclusive cir
Gle, FOR has her kindliness of heart and
g%entleness of disposition been lessened by
the possession of wealth or the batteries of
fashionable society.
The gentleman who has won this mod
est woman for his wife, is in New York es-
teemed as highly for sterling good qualities
as is his bride here, and it would seem,
therefore, that the union is one of especial
fitness.
The marriage ceremony took place at
noon yesterday in Grace Cathedral, San
Francisco. The church had been adorned
with floral wealth in the most lavish man
ner. The dressing of the structure in this
manner had involved the labor OF many
hands for several days, and as a result the
decorations surpassed, for loneliness and
fine taste, anything of the kind ever before
seen in California, where floral displays are
so common and so wonderfully rich. Over
1000 yards of evergreen %festooning alone
were used, while the large windows were
marvels of floral brilliancy in their heavy
dressing of flowers. Over the central aisle
was sprung a floral arch, a marvel of beauty
and tasteful designing. The baptismal
font was a tower of lilies and ferns, while
the chancel and altar were so decorated as
to represent a garden of choice flowers
hedged in a railing of white gulyhow-
ers and delicate ferns, with a front
section at the chancel rail in
white gillyflowers, yellow and tea,
and cloth of gold roses and purple
cinnevarias. Upon a background of ever
green's was a small open gate, set into the
floral barrier hedging about the mimic
| SoidCH. IL luC IlSut vi ILLS gateway was
a floral turnstile, composed also of roses
and buds. Over the chancel rail depended
an emerald veil of sprays of smilax, the
design being Topped back in the middle,
disclosing the altar beyond. Just within
the chancel stood a flower design in mono
gram c. A, the first letter being exoui-
sitely worked out with white roses and
lilacs, and the latter with Archduke
Charles roses. Upon the altar tables the
chief effort in floral decoration had been
made, with a result marvellous for its
beauty and originality. The most notable
of the varied decorations here was a high
vase of eucharist lilies and camellias, from
the midst of which sprung sprays of large
open roses of many colors and varieties.
Smaller vases in large number fanked
this, and were disposed upon the altar table
back of it, Extending across the entire
width of the chancel were lofty arches of
narrow span, composed wholly of flowers
and evergreens, with thanking panels of
white gillyflowers and smilax.
The guests present in the church were
those by invitation only, but these filled
the structure, INT many came as early as
h~alf-past 10 to secure favorable %sittings.
While waiting for the wedding party, SD.
Mayer presided at the organ and enter
tanned the assembled guests.
At noon, to the wedding march from
" L~ohengrin," the bridal party entered, the
bride and her parents, down the main aisle,
and the bridegroom and his brother Henry
by the chancel side entrance. The bride
was preceded by eight ushers: Messrs.
Frank Carolan, E. H. Sheldon, E. NJ.
Greenway, Henry and Charles Crocker
her cousins), Osgood Hooker, Harry Teyis
and II. B. Mcdowell. She was escorted
to the chaneel by her father, where the
bridegroom received her, and the two
! passed on to the altar-rail, where Rev. E..
r.. Spaulding read the beautiful ritual mar
rage service of the Episcopal Church.
Mr.. Croker first greeted his daughter by
her new title, and, as she kissed him, be
could not repress his tears. Her mother
was the next to congratulate her with an
embrace. Senator and Mrs. Stanford were
the next to greet the newly-married pair,
and they then passed down the aisle to the
measures of the Mendelssohn wedding
March" H. NJ. Bosworth presiding at the
organ. The bridal party were driven to
the Croker family residence, where a
breakfast was spread at which only the i'm
mediate members of the family sat down.
There was no reception owing to the fact
that the family is in mourning. The we'd
ding presents were exceedingly numerous,
and of the richest character.
The wedding dress of the bride was COM
| DOStu VI d COuIt lIdin VI WIllt6 SGIlU WlID
deep ~flounces of point de Venice lace, fes-
TONED with vines and orange blossoms,
giving the train a lovely effect. The front
of the robe was covered with rare old lace,
combined with a unique trimming of silver
crystal in festoons on the skirt. Knots of
orange blossoms connected the front with
the train. The corsage was cut in Henry
~. style, trimmed with lace to match the
skirt. A beautiful vine of orange blossoms
extended across the corsage from the right
shoulder to the waist, terminating in long
sprays. The sleeves c" the bodice were
slightly pulled at the shoulders and ex-
tended below the elbow, and were finished
with a fall of lace holding a tiny bouquet
of orange blossoms.
The family residence was decorated with
flowers in profusion and richness surpass-
ing anything of the kind preceding il, and
are spoken of by those who saw them as
marvels of the florists art, and for origi-
nality of designing as striking as they were
ing of the floral decorations at the church,
says "Festoons and garlands of flowers
were everywhere. and the sweet, rare per-
fume of the blossoms filled the air. Arch
ways of white flowers were erected at the
entrance to the main aisle, under which
the bridal party were to pass. Purple Gin
neraria blossoms formed archways at the
Slde-alsle entrances. Nearly every green
house and garden about San Fran
cisco furnished its proportion of
floral beauties. Roses of every kind
and color abounded, combining with
camellias, Gala lilies, and every flower
of white to form the general floral basis of
the display. The big trees of the inte-
rior valleys, the Seqloia gigaated, gave of
their foliage for the evergreen festoons,
pending in overlooking ines of green from
the many Gothic arches of the interior.
Long pendants of Gala lilies mingled with
the evergreens. At the front and about
the sides of the church tall fern brakes
from the mountain canyons formed a vain
scoting, with red camellias here and there,
like r~osettes, holding the brakes in place.
But in the chancel and altar was conferred
the floral display. No bride ever stood in
the midst of more beautiful blossoms.
The chancel and altar rails were hidden in
banks of roses of La Marque, cloth of
! gold, La France and other varieties
that only a rose expert could enumer-
ate. The step of the altar where the bridal
pair were to kneel was satin covered. Below
the rose-banked altar rail white blossoms
SLED the spaces of and above, depending
from q cord, stretched across the channel,